Introducing new technology for electoral purposes can increase costs, or it can decrease costs, depending on the cost of the new technology compared to the cost of the system it replaces. New technology may also bring non-monetary benefits, such as improvements in service delivery or transparency. An assessment of the cost effectiveness and potential benefits of new technology should be made before committing to its introduction.
Technology may appear to be costly at the implementation stage, but technology may save money in the long term, particularly where a low-cost technological solution can be found to replace a high-cost, low-tech application. Election management bodies (EMBs) need to weigh the costs and savings associated with introducing technology. When doing so, EMBs should keep in mind not only the initial costs involved in purchasing hardware and software and employing consultants to set up the new system, but also the ongoing maintenance and management costs.
The expected life-span of the technology should be determined. A technology that can be re-used for more than one purpose or for more than one election will be more cost-effective than one that can only be used once before it needs to be replaced (see also Sustainability).
Many technological solutions may cost significantly more than the equivalent manual processes that they replace. It may not always be cost effective to implement new technology where relatively minor improvements do not justify the extra cost. An EMB does not have to implement a high-cost, high-tech solution if a low-cost, low-tech alternative is acceptable in its particular circumstances.
Before entering into a technology purchase, an EMB needs to be sure that it has the funds for the initial implementation stage and for the ongoing maintenance costs. This will generally involve obtaining commitments through the relevant Government budgetary process. A cost/benefit analysis will in most cases be required when seeking funds from Government (see also 'etb05').
A cost/benefit analysis of the introduction of new technology could take the following form:
- State the purpose of the technology acquisition
- State why its acquisition is desirable
- Describe the current process that the new technology would replace
- State what problems or risks might be involved in continuing to use the current process
- Describe how the new technology would work
- State what benefits the new technology would bring
- State what problems or risks might be involved in adopting the new technology
- Analyse whether the new technology will increase or decrease the transparency of the electoral process
- Estimate all the costs involved in introducing the new technology: include the cost of (where relevant) hardware, software, infrastructure; communications; transport; staff; external contractors; ongoing maintenance; future upgrades
- Estimate the costs that would be involved if the technology fails
- Show the costs associated with the current processes
- Identify any cost offsets that would be saved by adopting the new technology
- Detail a time line for implementation of the new technology
- Discuss the sustainability of the new technology and indicate its expected useful life span
- Identify any external events necessary for the project to proceed, such as approval by stakeholders or enactment of legislative change
